Metallogenic types, characteristics and research progress of Nb-Ta deposits

Niobium and tantalum resources are widely distributed in the world. Their endogenous metallogenic deposits are mainly hosted in pegmatite, rare-metal granite, carbonatite, and alkaline rocks. Their exogenetic deposits are mostly the products of secondary enrichment through exogenous processes such as weathering and deposition from endogenous deposits. The metallogenic epoch of pegmatite-hosted deposits has a large span from 3.08 Ga to 0.19 Ga; alkaline rock-hosted deposits are at 2.25-1.35 Ga and 0.75-0.19 Ga respectively; carbonatite-hosted deposits are mainly in 0.75-0.6 Ga and 0.4-0.35 Ga; and granite-hosted deposits are mainly distributed in the middle and late stages of 0.75-0.19 Ga. At present, carbonatite-hosted niobium deposits and pegmatite-hosted tantalum deposits are the main exploration targets.